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Saying the same thing about Warren is the current lieutenant governor, Kathy Hochul, who insists she’s running for re-election rather than for Congress, contrary to reporters citing anonymous sources stating otherwise.

But because politicians sometimes obfuscate, dodge and outright lie about their intentions, it’s worth examining what would happen at Rochester City Hall if Warren ended up in Albany as lieutenant governor.

Recall the chaos that ensued the last time a Rochester mayor vacated office to become lieutenant governor.

The city ended up with three mayors in three weeks, two lawsuits challenging the legitimacy of one of them and the mayoral succession process, one investigation by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, and a spitting match in the City Council over what to do.

That happened in 2011, when Bob Duffy left City Hall for Albany. His deputy mayor, Thomas Richards, stepped in as the acting mayor only to resign amid questions whether he could run for mayor in a special election while acting as mayor.

When Richards stepped down, Carlos Carballada, the city’s neighborhood and business development commissioner, was installed as an emergency interim successor, a position he held until Richards won a special election that March.

The episode was an embarrassment that revealed just how unprepared the city was to handle such a transition.

Could it happen again? No.

Timothy Curtin, the city’s corporation counsel, explained that revisions to the City Charter and a federal law known as the Hatch Act since 2011 have made replicating the turmoil of that year all but impossible.

Now, should Warren vacate the Mayor’s Office, the deputy mayor, Cedric Alexander, would assume the mayor’s duties as acting mayor until a new mayor could be elected at either the next general election or a special election scheduled by the City Council.

Which election would depend on the time of year Warren departed.

If Warren left office after the November election and before the middle of June, which is the likeliest scenario should she become lieutenant governor, a mayoral election would be held at the general election in November 2019.

Robert Duffy, left, and Andrew Cuomo participate in a news conference in New York, Wednesday, May 26, 2010. Cuomo introduced Duffy as his running mate.(Photo: Richard Drew, AP)

Prior to the change, the Charter demanded the deputy mayor assume the duties of the office as acting mayor, and that the City Council choose a new mayor within 30 days or schedule a special election.

In 2011, an infighting City Council, led by Warren, who was president, couldn’t settle on a successor and opted to schedule a special election.

Richards, the acting mayor, announced his intention to run. But he almost immediately faced questions whether his candidacy would violate the federal Hatch Act.

At the time, the Hatch Act prohibited state and local government employees from running for office if they worked with programs financed in whole or in part by federal loans or grants.

The law posed a ridiculously low threshold because almost every local public official works with federally-funded programs to some extent.

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Deputy Mayor Cedric L. Alexander smiles during opening remarks at Mayor Lovely A. Warren's State of the City Address in this file photo.(Photo: KATE MELTON)

Elected officials, like mayors, were exempt from the law, freeing them to run for re-election. But Richards was only acting as mayor and was, in fact, still an appointed deputy mayor.

Many political observers at the time argued Richards would not have been “Hatched,” as they say. Nevertheless, Richards stepped down out of an abundance of caution after investigators from the U.S. Office of Special Counsel started probing.

Congress amended the Hatch Act in 2012 to allow most appointed, high-level public officials, like deputy mayors, to run for office regardless of their work with federally-financed programs.

Under the revised Hatch Act, only local officials whose salaries are entirely funded by federal grants are barred from seeking elected office.

Those changes give Rochester’s deputy mayor, Cedric Alexander, the opportunity to act as mayor and run for mayor should Warren leave office to become lieutenant governor.

Of course, that won’t happen because Warren and Hochul insist Warren isn’t being courted to run for lieutenant governor.